Jeonnam Province Submits Fourth Request to Government for Recognition of Rice Planthopper as Agricultural Disaster

Request for Damage Survey Before Harvest Season
Cases of Rice Panicle Blast in 2014 and 2022 Presented

Jeonnam Province strongly urged the government to recognize the rice planthopper as an agricultural disaster. This is the fourth request made by Jeonnam Province. The photo shows a rice paddy damaged by planthoppers.
[Photo by Jeonnam Province]

Jeonnam Province has strongly urged the government to recognize the damage caused by rice planthoppers, which has spread due to the heatwave, as an agricultural disaster. In particular, they also requested that damage assessments be conducted before the harvest season. This is the fourth time Jeonnam Province has made such a request to the government.

According to Jeonnam Province on the 2nd, as of September 30, the estimated area affected by rice planthopper damage is 19,603 hectares.

In its proposal, Jeonnam Province cited past cases where the government recognized diseases and pests such as rice panicle blast in 2014 and 2022 as disasters and provided restoration funds to persuade the government.

The province also newly presented the logic that the cause of the occurrence and spread of rice planthoppers was that a large number of rice planthoppers that occurred in China between July and August flew into Korea, settled domestically, and then rapidly increased due to the heatwave continuing until September, based on analysis of prediction models from the ‘Japan Plant Protection Association’.

Jung Gwang-hyun, Director of the Agriculture, Livestock and Food Bureau of Jeonnam Province, said, “We have been doing our best to persuade the government by jointly requesting with other cities and provinces such as Jeonbuk where damage has occurred, and explaining the need for support to local lawmakers,” adding, “We will make every effort to ensure that it is recognized as an agricultural disaster so that the damage to farmers is minimized.”